The announcement
came from the US State Department on Friday even as ceasefire
negotiations between the country’s two warring factions were set
to begin. American Ambassador Susan Page will remain in South
Sudan’s capital, Juba, but roughly 20 diplomats and their
families and staff have been evacuated.

Multiple outlets are reporting that rebel forces have gained
control of the capitals in the country’s Jonglei and Unity
states, where they are believed to be preparing an advance on
Juba.

“We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution to
ensure the safety and security of our diplomatic personnel,”
said State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf. “As a
result of this drawdown, the US Embassy in Juba will not be able
to provide consular services to US citizens in South Sudan.”

American citizens can still seek out consular services from the
US embassy in neighboring Kenya, but the State Department
emphasized it still “strongly recommend[s] that US citizens
in South Sudan depart immediately.”

Despite the drawdown, the US announced nearly $50 million in
humanitarian aid and said it remains “deeply and actively
committed” to halting the violence as it continues to rip
across the country.

Fighting in South Sudan first broke out last month when a
skirmish in Juba led President Salva Kiir to accuse political
rival and former Vice President Riek Machar of attempting a coup.
For his part, Machar has accused Kiir of behaving like a
dictator.

Complicating the situation is that the conflict is largely split
along ethnic lines – with Kiir’s Dinka tribe on one side and
Machar’s Nuer on the other. As we reported
in late December, however, the United Nation’s humanitarian chief
maintains the situation is a “political crisis” and has boosted
the number of peacekeeping forces in the nation from 7,000 to
12,500.

Preliminary peace talks scheduled to begin January 1 finally
began Friday in Ethiopia, although the two sides have yet to meet
face-to-face.

According to Reuters, more than a thousand people have been
killed since fighting broke out. More than 200,000 have been
displaced from their homes, a number that the UN expects to
double in three months.